A climate of fear hangs heavy over Jakarta

A climate of fear hangs heavy over Jakarta

By Ivy Susanti

JAKARTA (JP): The Chinese Year of the Tiger brought traumatic
roars to many Jakartans, with the claws of crime ripping apart
many of their lives in an increasingly inhospitable concrete
jungle.

Many may be thankful to close the chapter on the grim images
of 1998.

It all unfolded in a helter-skelter cycle.

The rupiah nosedived, prices of goods and services
skyrocketed, staple foods became hard to find, street rallies
were a daily event, Soeharto resigned, abductions, unrest,
looting, arson, riots, street and toll road robberies.

Soeharto's departure failed to stem the disturbances. Instead
it sparked more severe incidents, confusing and troubling the
hearts and minds of many Jakartans during this frenzied year.

Escalating street crime and fatal brawls involving students
and neighboring residents across the city also led many of the
9.6 million Jakartans to watch their fellow citizens warily.

The capital's denizens have usually basked in the great events
gracing the calendar year. This year, however, mass gatherings or
the convening of the House of Representatives sparked fear among
the public.

A whispered comment to a commuter about rumors of riots would
be enough to spread across the city.

Frightened Jakartans from all walks of life have armed
themselves in the name of self-protection.

Guns, stun guns, pen guns, sharp weapons and even machine guns
have become available.

An extreme example is the group of Blok M Plaza security
guards. The management provided them with bows and arrows plus
swords to ward off prospective looters.

The metropolis, once bustling and gleaming with light, is now
a dark fortress.

Minor blast

One of the first disturbing events of the year was the Jan. 18
explosion at a low-cost apartment in Tanah Tinggi, Central
Jakarta.

No fatalities were recorded and the simple homemade device
caused only minor damage to the apartment.

Saying the blast was linked to an antigovernment movement
steered by the then banned youth organization People's Democratic
Party (PRD) and aimed at disrupting national stability, the
security forces arrested Agus Priyono, 30, one of the tenants.

Agus' two alleged accomplices, identified by police as Prayogo
and Cony, have never been detained.

Gen. Wiranto, then Army Chief of Staff, branded PRD a
resurrection of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI),
blamed for an abortive coup attempt in 1965.

Security officers claimed a map and documents found in the
apartment indicated the suspects and their group intended to set
explosives at several locations in the capital before the
convening of the People's Consultative Assembly in March.

The Jakarta Agency for the Coordination of Support for the
Development of National Stability (Bakorstanasda) questioned
several figures, described in documents as the group's financial
patrons.

They included businessman Sofjan Wanandi, his brother Jusuf
Wanandi and Media Indonesia daily general manager Surya Paloh.
All denied any involvement with PRD.

February was marked by a series of mysterious telephoned bomb
threats to offices, banks, shopping malls, ministries and bus
terminals. All were subsequently deemed hoaxes but sporadic bomb
threats have continued up to December.

Long after Soeharto left office in May, Agus was finally
released in September.

Abductions

Reports of the abduction of antigovernment students and
activists grew from a trickle to a long list by February.

The long arm of the law caught others.

On March 12, for example, the city military apprehended three
students -- Nezar Patria, Mugianto and Aan Rusdianto -- at a low-
cost apartment in Klender, East Jakarta, for allegedly making
bombs and plotting political maneuvers.

Based on their initial statements and documents seized at the
scene, the three were identified as PRD members and charged with
links to Agus Priyono.

Other students were caught for more mundane displays of anger.

In early August, the authorities arrested a 24-year-old
student, Dino, for allegedly throwing two Molotov cocktails at
the security post of Governor Sutiyoso's official residence in
the luxurious suburb of in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The motive for the attack apparently stemmed from a dispute
over Dino parking too close to the governor's residence.

High-intensity political conflicts inevitably led to shows of
force.

On Oct. 2, a group styling itself as the "People's Saver
Front" pelted stones at businessman Arifin Panigoro's house on
Jl. Jenggala in South Jakarta and smashed two of his cars.

They demanded that Arifin, owner of the widely diversified
Medco Group which includes the country's biggest oil and gas
company Medco Energi Corporation, stop financing student rallies
and publication of anti-Habibie circulars.

Arifin denied the allegations.

On Oct. 6, members of Volunteers for Humanity, which was
providing counseling to rape victims from the May riots, reported
receiving threatening phone calls and letters, and that some of
its members had been followed. They also claimed to have received
a grenade in June at their office in East Jakarta.

A week later, hundreds of people claiming to be members of the
People's Voice Committee attacked and vandalized the Indonesian
Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) office in front of security
personnel.

The people demanded that the office return former workers of
textile manufacturer PT Tyfountex to Surakarta, Central Java. The
workers, locked in a dismissal dispute with the company, sought
legal support and shelter at the YLBHI office.

The attackers labeled the workers as rioters from "out of
town".

They also accused the office of neglecting several other
important cases, such as the 1984 Tanjung Priok incident when
security forces opened fire on hundreds of Muslim protesters.

Unforgettable

Among the most unforgettable and calamitous scenes of the year
was the May 12 shooting of four Trisakti University students near
their West Jakarta campus.

It triggered a surreal kaleidoscope of rioting, burning,
looting and mass destruction.

Trisakti University students Hendrawan Sie, Heri Hartanto,
Hafidhin Royan and Elang Mulya Lesmana lost their lives, and many
others were injured when security personnel opened fire on the
anti-Soeharto gathering.

So far, only two officers from the city police mobile brigade
unit -- First Lt. Agus Tri Heryanto, 29, and Second Lt. Pariyo,
38 -- have been court-martialed for failing to follow procedures.

After lengthy trial sessions, the two officers were sentenced
to 10 months and four months in jail respectively for ordering
their men to shoot into the crowd of Trisakti students.

The students' shocking deaths unleashed an orgy of violence,
and contributed to Soeharto finally leaving power after 32 years
and at the age of 77.

Thousands of people, mostly Chinese-Indonesians and
expatriates, flocked to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in a
desperate bid to get flights out of the riot-torn city.

Official reports conclude 499 bodies were recovered from
destroyed shopping centers in the capital.

But the Volunteers, led by Catholic priest Sandyawan Sumardi,
put the death toll from the May 13 to May 15 riots at 1,193. It
also said 168 women, mostly ethnic Chinese, were raped or
sexually assaulted.

Official data put the property losses at Rp 2.5 trillion.

Statistics on the destruction are sobering. No less than 2,547
shops-houses, 40 malls, 1,819 stores, 383 office buildings, 535
banks, 24 restaurants, 15 markets, 12 hotels, 1,026 houses, two
churches, 11 police stations, 46 automotive repair stations,
1,119 cars, 821 motorbikes and nine gas stations were damaged,
looted or burned and almost 520 street lights and traffic lights
destroyed.

Although no official explanation was forthcoming, two of the
city's top security officials -- city military commander Maj.
Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and city police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami
Nata -- were quickly replaced.

Friday the 13th

A momentous shooting of protesting students by security
personnel was repeated again on the northern side of the Semanggi
cloverleaf on the evening of Nov. 13, ominously a Friday.

Eight students and two onlookers died, and dozens of others
were hurt.

Sporadic riots and looting took place the following day in
Jakarta.

Authorities later announced that 144 soldiers from various
military units would be disciplined for firing their weapons
without their superior's orders during what became known as the
"Black Friday" incident.

From their living rooms, nervous Jakartans could watch the
battles played out in the warzone of their city.

Seemingly oblivious to the public's feeling, the authorities
deployed thousands of civilian security guards (Pamswakarsa) in
November to help secure the Special Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly.

It did not instill a sense of security in Jakartans, but
rather fear of a civil war.

The apprehension was proven when volunteers -- mostly armed
with bamboo spears -- patrolled the city in trucks, yelling
insults and throwing rocks at student protesters. They often
struck passersby for no apparent reason.

When clashes between security forces and students broke out at
the Semanggi incident, a number of the civilian security guards
were beaten by crowds in Cawang, East Jakarta. At least three
died ghastly deaths.

Interviewed at their preliminary base at the Istiqlal Grand
Mosque, the civilian guards said they came from different cities
and towns in Java, including Yogyakarta, Semarang, Cirebon,
Bandung and Banten. Many were jobless.

Some of them were also dispatched to guard shopping centers
and office buildings.

A planned media conference with a Pamswakarsa member and a
relative of another member on their recruitment was abruptly
canceled at the YLBHI office without explanation.

As the year ends and the tiger's roar continues to haunt
Jakartans, many hope the upcoming Year of the Rabbit will prove
kinder to their fortunes.